Moroccan ports give Spain a cold sweat

Spain looks with a touch of concern at the rise of Morocco in the port sector. Tanger Med, a true maritime juggernaut, is becoming a formidable competitor for Spanish ports, particularly in the field of container transport.

It is the public body Puertos del Estado, responsible for managing Spanish ports, which is sounding the alarm. Its president, Álvaro Rodríguez Dapena, did not mince his words during a recent visit to Melilla: Moroccan ports, with Tangier Med at the forefront, have become “very powerful rivals”. The figures speak for themselves: Tanger Med today processes nearly nine million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent) containers per year, literally crushing the port of Algeciras, although it is the leader in Spain, which with Valencia barely reaches five million.